Don't listen to anyone who says that a Yugoslavian is an inferior SKS because of the absence of a chrome-lined barrel: the Yugos can build a rifle (whether it be SKS or AK) that can stand toe-to-toe with any country's offering.

While I would prefer to not have the grenade launcher site on mine, I prefer the Yugo SKS' I have had over the Chicoms hands down... YMMV

Thanks for all the replies guys! I have learned a lot from this thread. The one I was considering apparently got bought, as it disappeared off armslist. I am not in any great hurry on the thing, just saw it for sale, and remembered that I had been thinking about one for a few years.

Don't listen to anyone who says that a Yugoslavian is an inferior SKS because of the absence of a chrome-lined barrel: the Yugos can build a rifle (whether it be SKS or AK) that can stand toe-to-toe with any country's offering.

While I would prefer to not have the grenade launcher site on mine, I prefer the Yugo SKS' I have had over the Chicoms hands down... YMMV

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Many pistol, rifles & shotguns are NOT chrome lined, and they continue to work just like the day they were made.

Get a Russian with a chrome color bolt if you can.. if not, the black bolt is fine but is normally a refurb. If I couldnt find a Russian, I would opt for a Chinese. All the gadgets and gizmoes that they offer for the sks, all turned out to be complete junk and a complete waste of time and money. I have seen people change over to a 20 round fixed mag but then their rifle didnt function properly. I left my sks's all stock and they are were 100% reliable. I dont like Romanians, Yugos or aftermarket anything. The (2) that I kept were both Russian refurbs. Some people rave about the SKS-d or m or whatever, the one that takes the AK mags... I owned one for a while but it was just a novelty item and always seemed awkward to shoot.

Many pistol, rifles & shotguns are NOT chrome lined, and they continue to work just like the day they were made.

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The difference is they were not issued to a conscript army with corrosive ammunition. I've seen sewer pipe looking Nagant's from them not being cleaned properly and there is a chance that yugo SKS can be like that as well since they only shot corrosive ammo. Over cleaning can also cause issues with the crown of the rifle. The gas system on a yugo is more problematic then other SKS rifles because of the grenade launcher.

Once a barrel has pits in it it will never be as accurate as it was without the pits.

The difference is they were not issued to a conscript army with corrosive ammunition. I've seen sewer pipe looking Nagant's from them not being cleaned properly and there is a chance that yugo SKS can be like that as well since they only shot corrosive ammo. Over cleaning can also cause issues with the crown of the rifle. The gas system on a yugo is more problematic then other SKS rifles because of the grenade launcher.

Once a barrel has pits in it it will never be as accurate as it was without the pits.

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Buy a good one from the start and with proper care and maintenance you'll never have to worry about the barrel ever being pitted. There are tons of Yugo's that are like brand new. Comparing Nagants to SKs's is a bit of a streatch.

Get a Russian with a chrome color bolt if you can.. if not, the black bolt is fine but is normally a refurb. If I couldnt find a Russian, I would opt for a Chinese. All the gadgets and gizmoes that they offer for the sks, all turned out to be complete junk and a complete waste of time and money. I have seen people change over to a 20 round fixed mag but then their rifle didnt function properly. I left my sks's all stock and they are were 100% reliable. I dont like Romanians, Yugos or aftermarket anything. The (2) that I kept were both Russian refurbs. Some people rave about the SKS-d or m or whatever, the one that takes the AK mags... I owned one for a while but it was just a novelty item and always seemed awkward to shoot.

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I agree on leaving the magazine/gun stock, my first gun was a Norinco sks that I thought would look tacticool with a "banana clip" and folding stock. I learned real fast that I'd rather be shooting then messing around the whole range session trying to get the magazine to feed correctly, and the folding stocks plastic butt piece started to hurt my shoulder after awhile.

I have to disagree on the sks-m/d's, I enjoy the D I own. I must admit I don't care for the thumb hole sportster stock, it got swapped out with a normal wooden factory stock.

Russian, Chinese, Yugo, etc... I don't think you can go wrong on any of them as long as they haven't had everything from the pages of Sportsman Guide bolted on and been bubba'fied beyond repair.

A word of caution to the OP though, SKS's are addictive like Glock's. You will want another soon after you purchase your first one.

In the event that you continue to want a SKS, you need to spend some time at WWW.SKSboards.com Go to the troubleshooting section. It wouldn't take long to discover of all the SKS's sold, the Yugo's are plagued with the most problems. Dealers (buyers) choice, just know forehand what you may be in for!

IMHO the major benefit of chrome lining a rifle bore is to help reduce the accelerated throat erosion that can take place with high volume fire that can rapidly heat the barrel of these type rifles to white hot.

With normal use, that will not be a major issue with a non-chrome lined bore. Also agree with above regarding keeping the SKS stock. I have tried both and came back to stock out of the box.

In the event that you continue to want a SKS, you need to spend some time at WWW.SKSboards.com Go to the troubleshooting section. It wouldn't take long to discover of all the SKS's sold, the Yugo's are plagued with the most problems. Dealers (buyers) choice, just know forehand what you may be in for!

I got a 1950 Russian SKS refurb last year for $350 which is the type with the factory spring loaded firing pin. I replaced it with a Murry spring and firing pin made for a 1950 SKS just so the factory one stays pristine.

I had a Yugo and non-import marked Chinese SKS and although the Yugos are nice, their wood is thicker and the entire thing is heavier like their AKs. If that's all you can find it's no big deal, but I sold my unissued Yugo awhile back for the weight difference between it and the Chinese SKS I had.

Here's my Russian 1950 SKS. It's got a chrome bolt and all the numbers match, but the bayonet is black.

Good Question
I've never had the slightest problem with mine. I think most of the problems are caused by the owners. People just can't seem to leave them alone. They just feel the need to improve on a rifle that doesnt need any improving.
I know at least 5 guys who all have Yugo's, we all bought them at the same GS, and none of them have had any problems.

I've been shooting this Yugo for about 3 years now. Cabela's had them as loss-leader bait and I jumped ($175 IIRC) - they were all recon (all numbers match) and in Cosmoline. I had them drag out 6 before I picked one - for some reason they thought they'd hand me a gun in a box and I'd say 'thanks!' - hehe! The boys behind the counter had to wash their hands but so did I! I spent 2 days (of spare time) on it, mineral spirits, every size brush on the planet, baked parts in the oven - SPECIAL attention to the firing pin and it's been totally reliable and great to shoot from day1. I took out the cleaning kit (added a modern butt pad), the rod - removed the bayonet to lighten it up a bit. That's all reversible. I look at the grenade launcher as a flash suppressor - though it's not. The iron sights are great and I added the modified receiver cover to add optics ( a red dot here). Contrary to popular belief that can be done successfully it just takes care and patience. The first few times I cleaned it I thought I'd lose zero. Nope! It goes right back where it came from. The unit has a see through tunnel for the iron sights as well. I'd try a 20 round SKS fixed mag IF I could find one but it's a great gun as is and i get 3" groups at 100' from a rest with Tula ammo - from a vise it would do 2" - maybe better. I keep it clean, make sure the firing pin is free and moving and it just keeps going...

Good Question
I've never had the slightest problem with mine. I think most of the problems are caused by the owners. People just can't seem to leave them alone. They just feel the need to improve on a rifle that doesnt need any improving.
I know at least 5 guys who all have Yugo's, we all bought them at the same GS, and none of them have had any problems.

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